There’s Fruit in Them Thar Trees!: Pick Fruit in South L.A. this Weekend

Food Forward volunteers on a fruit pick at a local residence. photo: courtesy of Food Forward

EVER GET THAT FEELING you don’t have enough fruit-picking in your life?

Food Forward and Community Services Unlimited, Inc. (CSU) want to help you fill that void. You are invited to join them as they harvest lemons in South L.A. this Sunday.

The harvest — scheduled to take place at 11:00 A.M. at the home of a local resident — is part of a new program called the Tree of Life Harvest Corps. CSU and Food Forward joined forces to create the program with the goal of identifying and caring for fruit trees in the area, harvesting the fruit that would normally go to waste, and then distributing it locally through CSU’s Village Marketplace program. The picking excursions take place once or twice a month throughout South L.A., last 1.5 – 2 hours, and can yield a substantial harvest.

If you are interested in participating but don’t have a ladder or fruit-picking gear, fear not! They’ve got all the equipment you will need. All you have to do is reserve a spot by sending an email to csu.treeoflife(at)gmail.com at least 24 hours prior to the pick. You will be given the exact address at that time (as the location is a private residence); the site is in South L.A., near the Normandie Elementary School (at Normandie and Vernon Aves.).

If you can’t make the harvest this Sunday, there will be a tree pruning workshop on the 30th of May which you are welcome to attend. The program is also looking for volunteer fruit pickers and people who have fruit to donate. Please email the Harvest Corps at csu.treeoflife(at)gmail.com to RSVP for any of these activities or for more information about getting involved.
PREFER GARDENING AND COOKING TO PICKING? Check out CSU’s Garden Workshop from 9 A.M. – 12 P.M. Saturday, May 12th at their Expo Garden (on the corner of Menlo and King Blvd.). CSU will teach you how to plant Milpa, a Mexican and Central American traditional approach to growing corn, beans and squash together. Then they will teach you how to combine the ingredients in healthy recipes. To RSVP, call 323.299.7075.

Word On The Street

“...currently in Metro rail's budget 25% of that goes to security of the system. Not towards more service but security of the system. I wouldn't be so harsh and cynical about this had the Sheriff's been more visible at all Metro stations...”